Braille information notification device

ABSTRACT

A method for imputing a voice message recording for a particular floor served by an elevator car includes the steps of sensing elevator car positions ( 21 ), sensing that a selected car operating panel button has been held down ( 22 ) and enabling a voice input process ( 23 ).  
     A device for displaying Braille information to an elevator user includes an elongated panel ( 42 ) having a central Braille character panel ( 31 ) and two buttons ( 32, 33 ) disposed at opposite ends of the elongated panel for causing the displayed information to move backward and forward. A plurality of actuators ( 38 ), and probes ( 35 ) extruding through the Braille panel form Braille characters.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention pertains to a method for recording anaudible floor call for any floor in an elevator and a Brailleinformation notification device by which guiding information on anyfloor is notified by means of Braille.

BACKGROUND

[0002] In the past, when a visually handicapped person used an elevator,he/she either read Braille notices located near the floor buttons on theelevator car operating panel in the elevator or the elevator hall inorder to actuate the button for the target floor, or utilized an audioinformation guide. In addition, a system for issuing an audible floorannouncement as the elevator car arrived at each floor has been adopted.FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of said audiblefloor announcement system. In said system, recording means 53 isprovided on control board 52 placed on the back of the operating panel(not illustrated) in elevator car 51, and a signal 54, triggered by thearrival of the elevator car at a given floor is delivered to saidrecording means 53, and the floor at which elevator car 51 has arrivedis announced by a voice from speaker 55.

[0003] In the case of the typical floor call sound notification systemshown in FIG. 7, because Braille plates 58 are merely attached nearfloor buttons 57 on operating panel 56 (shown in FIG. 8) of elevator car51, the Braille information is limited only to the areas of Brailleplates 58, so that the amount of information to be conveyed is limited.Furthermore, in FIG. 8, door OPEN/CLOSE buttons 59 and speaker 60 areprovided on operating panel 56.

[0004] It is known in the prior art to provide a system wherein tooperating panel 56 in a handicapped person presses elevator STOP buttonand remains in touch with a reconfigureable Braille display providednear said button with his finger, as the elevator car passes the floors.As said car passes the floors, said passing floors are indicated bymeans of Braille, so that the handicapped person can find the travelingstatus of the car. Thus, the handicapped person can remain at ease whilewaiting to arrive at his/her destination floor.

[0005] However, the invention described in said patent is intended toconvey Braille information, only regarding floor number to handicappedpeople, and the space for the Braille display part needs to be increasedif a larger amount of information is to be provided. In addition,because audible floor calls are limited to messages preset by themanufacturer, it is inconvenient in that audible calls cannot be changedas desired.

[0006] The present invention was achieved in light of the aforementionedsituation, and its objective is to present an audible floor callregistration method and a Braille information notification device bywhich not only the individual floor messages can be changed easily, butthe amount of Braille information to be conveyed can also be increasedsignificantly.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, in the presentinvention, a first embodiment is characterized as being provided with anelevator car position sensing process in which an elevator car is movedto a floor where an original voice is to be input, and whether theelevator car has arrived at said floor or not is sensed;

[0008] a continuous button holding-down judging process in which, afterthe arrival of the elevator car at the aforementioned floor is sensedthrough said position sensing process, whether a first button preset onan operating panel provided in the elevator car has been held down for afixed duration of time or not is judged;

[0009] a voice input enabling process in which when the first button,through said continuation judging process, is judged to have been helddown, a voice input is enabled;

[0010] a recording starting process in which when a second button on theaforementioned operating panel is actuated, a recording of a givenmessage is started; and

[0011] a voice input setting ending process in which when a third buttonon the aforementioned operating panel is actuated, the aforementionedmessage is recorded, and the aforementioned operation is ended.

[0012] A second embodiment of the present invention is characterized asbeing a panel presenting information in Braille, wherein said Brailleinformation panel is equipped with a slender rectangular Braillecharacter panel provided in the center and buttons provided on the leftand the right of said Braille character panel in order to move theBraille information presented on the Braille character panel backward orforward.

[0013] The second is embodiment is further characterized in that theaforementioned Braille character panel is configured with an upper and alower panel layer, a fixed space is provided between the layers, thelayers are pierced with multiple probes used to form Braille characters,said probes are provided with upper limit stops and lower limit stops,each probe is configured such that it can be moved vertically, actuatorsare controlled by means of output processed by an information processingpart according to input information from an information input part, andthe probes move up and down to create Braille characters in accordancewith said control.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0014]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outlined configuration of a firstembodiment of the present invention.

[0015]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the first embodiment.

[0016]FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a secondembodiment of the present invention.

[0017]FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the details of the Braillecharacter driving mechanism.

[0018]FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a configuration when theBraille character panel is provided on the operating panel in theelevator car.

[0019]FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining simple Braille characters.

[0020]FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an outlined configuration of a typicalaudible floor call notification system.

[0021]FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a typical operating panel in anelevator car.

BEST MODE

[0022] Embodiments of the present invention will be explained belowbased on figures.

[0023] First Embodiment

[0024]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outlined configuration of a firstembodiment of said invention, and FIG. 2 is a functional block diagramof the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, 11 is an elevator car, and controlboard 12 is provided on the back of an operating panel (not illustrated)in said elevator car 11. Said control board 12 is provided with arecorder 13 in which information for notifying each floor at which theelevator car has just arrived by voice is stored. When an elevator cararrival signal as external signal 14 is input into said recorder 13,recorder 13 interprets said signal, retrieves the voice information forthe floor at which elevator car (11) has just arrived, and outputs saidinformation from speaker 15 as a voice for the purpose of notification.

[0025] Control board 12 of elevator car 11 is provided with soundconversion element 16, so that during setup operations when an operatorsays “Floor number so-and-so” into microphone 17 provided on theoperating panel, the resulting electric signal is input into said soundconversion element 16. Output of sound conversion element 16 is suppliedto recorder 13 and stored there. Furthermore, because an indicator panelfor sound input/output setup operations cannot be easily provided on theoperating panel, door OPEN/CLOSE buttons and floor buttons on theoperating panel are assigned as buttons for “Play: P (PLAY), Redo: R(REPEAT), Delete: D (DELETE), and Record: S (SOUND)” and these assignedbuttons are designed to flash during setup operation mode.

[0026] Next, the method for capturing and storing sounds uttered by anoperator into the recorder 13 will be described using FIG. 2. In FIG. 2,first, the elevator car is moved to the floor where an original voice isto be input, and whether the elevator car has arrived at a prescribedlocation or not as a result of said movement is sensed during elevatorcar position sensing process 21. When door OPEN (OPEN) button on theoperating panel is held down for 5 sec, for example, after the arrivalof the elevator car at the prescribed floor is sensed through saidposition sensing process 21, said operation is acknowledged during dooropen button continuation judging process 22.

[0027] If the door OPEN button is judged to have been held down duringdoor open button continuation judging process 22, Record “S” button onthe aforementioned indicator panel starts flashing, and voice inputenabling process 23 begins. When the UP button on the operating panel isactuated subsequently, an announcement “Now, ready for recording. Givean audible message by saying ‘Floor Number so-and-so’ after the beep” isdelivered into the elevator car. Once said condition is achieved, andwhen aforementioned Record “S” button is pressed in order to record the“message regarding floor number,” recording starting process 24 begins.

[0028] When the recording for said floor has been completed, and theelevator car DOWN button is actuated, recording ending process 25begins. At this time, an announcement “Press PLAY ‘P’ button to hear themessage just recorded, DELETE ‘D’ button to delete it, or REDO ‘R’button to redo it” is delivered. After these operations have beencompleted, voice input setting ending process 26 is carried out to endthe recording operation. To achieve an ending, door OPEN button is helddown again for 5 sec, for example. The aforementioned processes arerepeated for each floor to be announced.

[0029] The aforementioned recording and playback operations may becarried out interactively like a remote telephone answering system. Inaddition, because common elements of the elevator control panel are usedfor the electronic parts for the aforementioned embodiment, cost impactis kept to a minimum.

[0030] Second Embodiment

[0031]FIGS. 3 through 5 are diagrams for explaining the configuration ofa second embodiment of said invention, a diagram for explaining thedetails of the driving mechanism, and a diagram for explaining theconfiguration when installed on the operating panel in an elevator car.FIG. 3 shows a Braille information panel 42 provided at a prescribedposition on the operating panel of the elevator car. Said Brailleinformation panel has Braille character panel 31 created in the shape ofa rectangle in the center, and said panel 31 is configured such thatbumps are created mechanically on the panel surface using actuators frombelow with a driving mechanism to be described later in order to expressfive or more characters in Braille, for example. Arrow buttons 32 and 33are provided to the left and the right of rectangular Braille characterpanel 31, such that when “FORWARD” button 33 is pressed by a passenger,the Braille information displayed on the Braille panel 31 is scrolledforwardly and when “BACKWARD” button 32 is pressed, Braille informationis scrolled backwardly.

[0032] Furthermore, the installation is such that a judgment of “RESET”is made if neither “BACKWARD” button 32 nor “FORWARD” button 33 isactuated for 30 sec, and Braille character panel 31 returns to theinitial screen condition (arrangements of bumps).

[0033] As described above, when Braille character panel 31 is providedon the operating panel, not only can the amount of presentableinformation be increased significantly, but the information can bechanged as desired. Furthermore, a Braille character panel may also beprovided on an operating panel in the elevator hall.

[0034]FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the details of the drivingmechanism for forming Braille characters on Braille character panel 31.In FIG. 4, Braille character panel 31 is configured with upper and lowerpanel layers 31 a and 31 b, and a fixed space 34 is provided between thelayers. Elements 35 represent flexible probes. Said probes 35 are usedfor Braille character formation and are provided in a multiple number.Probes 35 are provided in such a manner that they pierce through lowerpanel layer 31 b to upper panel layer 31 a. In addition, probes 35 areprovided with upper limit stops 36 and lower limit stops 37 where space34 is provided.

[0035] Probes 35 are configured in such a manner that they can be movedvertically by means of actuators 38. Actuators 38 are controlled bymeans of signals from control 39, whereby probes 35 move up and down inaccordance with said control, and resulting Braille characters rise onthe surface of upper panel layer 31 a. Control 39 is operated by meansof output processed by information processing part 41 based on inputinformation from information input part 40.

[0036]FIG. 5 is a diagram for illustrating how Braille character panel31 and arrow buttons 32 and 33 are provided on the operating panel of anelevator car.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 6, Braille character may be formed from up to 6dots, as is well known to Braille users.

[0038] Because the Braille characters are configured in the mannerdescribed above, when information is presented on panel 31 in FIG. 3using the driving mechanism in FIG. 4, a large amount of information canbe presented. Furthermore, signals generated by operating arrow panels32 and 33 are supplied to information processing part 41 in order tocontrol movement during processing. In addition, information input part40 and information processing part 41 may be configured using acomputer. Furthermore, although it is not illustrated, information inBraille may also be notified through conversion into voice.

[0039] As has been described above, the present invention has advantagesin that a voice can be converted into arbitrary sounds, and that theamount of Braille information to be conveyed can be increasedsignificantly.

1. Audible floor call recording method comprising the steps of: sensing elevator car position by moving the elevator car to a floor where an original voice is to be input and determining whether the elevator car has arrived at that floor, sensing continuous button pressing, after determining that the elevator car has arrived at the aforementioned floor by the car position sensing process, by judging whether a preselected first button on an operating panel of the elevator car has been held down for a fixed period of time, enabling a voice input process in response to the continuous button pressing sensing step, initiating recording of a message in response to pressing a preselected second button on the aforementioned operating panel, ending said recording of a message when a preselected third button on the aforementioned operating panel is pressed.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of repeating the sensing, enabling, initiating, and ending steps for each floor for which it is desired to record a unique audible floor call.
 3. A Braille information notification device for a elevator comprising an information panel, wherein said panel is equipped with an elongated rectangular Braille character panel disposed in the center thereof and at least two buttons disposed on the left and the right of said Braille character panel enabling a user to selectively move the Braille information presented on the Braille character panel backward or forward.
 4. The Braille information notification device described under claim 3 characterized in that said Braille character panel includes an upper and a lower panel layer, having a fixed space between the layers and wherein the layers are pierced with multiple probes for forming Braille characters, said probes being provided with upper limit stops and lower limit stops, each probe further being configured such that it can be moved vertically, a plurality of corresponding actuators controlled by an information processing part in response to input information from an information input part, said probes moved up and down by said actuators to create Braille characters in accordance with said information processing part. 